We are interested in developing techniques for encapsulating various molecules within a biodegradable material used for cartilage tissue engineering scaffolding. The molecules of interest, for example, drugs and bioactive agents such as growth factors, will be used to stimulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and tissue development within the scaffold. The initial step in realizing our objective is to encapsulate these drugs within nanoparticles that are produced from the same polymer as the scaffold. We are currently optimizing the nanoparticle manufacturing and drug encapsulation techniques. Once these techniques are reproducible, we will proceed with development of methods to incorporate these drug-laden nanoparticles within the polymer scaffold. Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging will be used to determine release rates of MR sensitive contrast agents, which serve as drug surrogates.